If I Loved You

This article is about the Rodgers and Hammerstein 1945 showtune. For the 2014 Rufus Wainright concert show, see If I Loved You: Gentlemen Prefer Broadway. For the 2012 song from the EP "Chasing Twisters", see Delta Rae.

"If I Loved You"
Single by Perry Como
B-side	"I'm Gonna Love That Gal (Like She's Never Been Loved Before)"
Released	June 4, 1945 (1945-06-04)
Recorded	May 19, 1945 (1945-05-19)
Genre	Popular music
Length	3:22
Label	RCA Victor 20-1676
Composer(s)	Richard Rodgers
Lyricist(s)	Oscar Hammerstein II
Producer(s)	Herb Hendler
Perry Como singles chronology
"Temptation" (1945) "If I Loved You" (1945) "Till the End of Time" (1945)

"If I Loved You" is a show tune from the 1945 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Carousel.

Background

In the show, the characters of Billy Bigelow and Julie Jordan sing this song as they hesitantly declare their love for one another, yet are too shy to express their true feelings.

The song was in turn inspired by lines of dialogue from Ferenc Molnár's original Liliom, the source material for the musical.

Carousel

The song was introduced by John Raitt^[1] as "Billy Bigelow" and Jan Clayton as "Julie" in the original Broadway production.^[2]

The song was performed in the 1956 film version Carousel by Gordon MacRae and Shirley Jones.

Other recordings

There were four hit versions of the song in 1945: Perry Como (#3), Frank Sinatra (#7), Bing Crosby (#8) and Harry James (#8).^[3] In 1954, Roy Hamilton's recording went to #4 on Billboard's, Best Sellers in Stores chart.^[4] A version by Chad & Jeremy reached #16 on Canada's RPM charts, March 29, 1965.^[5]

Many artists have recorded the song over the years.^[6] Vagabon recorded a version for the 2023 film Red, White & Royal Blue.^[7]

References

1. Gilliland, John. (197X). "Pop Chronicles 1940s Program #14 - All Tracks UNT Digital Library". Digital.library.unt.edu. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
2. "Internet Broadway Database". ibdb.com. Retrieved January 14, 2019.
3. Whitburn, Joel (1986). Joel Whitburn's Pop Memories 1890-1954. Wisconsin, USA: Record Research Inc. p. 526. ISBN 0-89820-083-0.
4. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 243.
5. "RPM Top 40&5 - March 29, 1965" (PDF).
6. "secondhandsongs.com". secondhandsongs.com. Retrieved January 14, 2019.
7. Lynch, Joe (2023-08-08). "Why the 'Red, White & Royal Blue' Soundtrack Doesn't Exactly Follow the Book". Billboard. Retrieved 2023-09-10.